Liquid cooling apparatus



J. l. MORRISON LIQUID COOLING APPARATUS Get. 16, 1951 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 Filed Dec. 30, 1948 w W 7 NW IRMV TJ M. va/ a :W lzrfibyg -1 I: E L FF-.. my I E 1951 J. l. MORRISON LIQUID COOLING APPARATUS 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Dec. 50, 1948 INVENTOR.

MM/M4 a i atenteri Oct. 16, 1951 UNITED PATENT OFFICE 2,571,923 LiiiiiiflhtiiiilING hi fiziimi'ifs .ibs'einiL Mairison, Lirieolnwooa; Ill. Ap rl ication fiecem ber 30, E48, Serial Nd. 68,198

is wa,ter which is pircu letir ig duerjsuitibie fre'ez ingsurfeces ain wherein a reciiemetm rfrig rantco isllse e t,

oo i g stems 9? ne ee re char'btr i ir ared abo e a hefet r q we bee Prfiviad, 4 u e mine eir uin us t m k i tions f org cocling mill; brought from deities Q oth r inilkprodmre. t r his been brought to the collecti gstaticnit ihust he cooled from it diiigihal temperaturetc apprcxiinetely 10:51 in o d ri to d stro il ezvi e n' o tained in m l s. well as. .P ti in red n athefl .q e .mc v m st e d out at a .me er e wareiul n Well re iila dvm nne ha i W11.,1.1nd 61$1399d1 Qi l examn ec a pepffiqql ns sy tem su l 55 ;the cocling of milk by r ilk collecting stations is that described in my Patent No. 2,448,453, dated u u t3L'1948- H One cf theobjectscf my invention is to provide ample hea tr n ier ie t, We. fu ther o ec i t9. rqvideneat he s rface in.t e; qr.m, f prqie i n ex endi g h ett ans rnpletes .lece edle the pat b t .et hthe heet.trensie lieuid ih sb fiddle .ti neL ea t nsi r sur eq tfi e ew e f e turb len e, 9f t e he t. i nsi l fl i r 4. ii P951 3025 9 t e ie idrem teimm the Iiat fifdffsxsuriac int tom -t t tmvit v ...A;.19t bi et. th m t' a means for increasing rf'ri'g'erati eliminating ccuntercurrents of g frigera. downward "fidwihg liquid r'fiigrnt eder .99 t,. it t Another-object of the'ii yeiit'ich is tc'girdtiiie 1a re r erat ng sy em Whih tl eb l E'bafidiiit iced 9; substantially liquid ref rigeririt'. to ih'e'der cfcmmiunicaticnwith refrigera'ltcr'bifisl YQt another Object of the mvention is'to pro- ;gi de en ilpprve dcbclirlg'system cf the character i qiceted which is compact, flexible, ii'd highly 9 i??? t Furthercbjects ah'd advantages (if the inverjiwill be abpareht frdm thedes'critpich ah'd r a. more ccrnipleteunderstahdihg of the irilQn, reference should be held tothe drawings 1 i t .7 4

Figure 1 is a. front el e'iiaticrial 'viwbf the ppa u A t. 4 r

ig. 2:1 a. secticnal'viw taken mung lir'ies'2 2 of ig- 1;

Fig. '3 is en emerged hiirfz'critel s'ectibhhl' v ew w en 'on iihes Peer Fig. 1, "and sh'owir'ig the refrigerating pipes and their ccm'mon talhgntfal 7 Wall;

Is sfic'e formed km the heat transfer element;

Fig. 5 is a, view substantially "on the line of Fig -1"showing' a horizontal crosssec'tio'ii i theccmplete heat transfer appa'i'atus; 21nd "Fig. 6 is a. perspective View showil ig the refrigerarit ccntenttenkend porticns of then-peer ends of the transfer elements;

;Referring to Figs. 1 arld 20f the-'drawifigsj'tifi invention as shown is embcdied in af tar ik 10 ha ing e cooling fluid inletl-l ana a coenng huie cutlet IZ. Inlet l I supplies water from anedjecent c'oblei (not shown) which is of anyusual kind and may I 'ccnsist of a chamber ccritaihing-a, series'of water choling'coils. Outlet 12 returns the cccled water from the tank '10 to the-ccoIer; Such-a coole'i' is' shcwn at' II in a'pplica'nts Patent No. 2,448 '3, dated August -31, 1948. The circulation of the water between the coclingccils and the 'ti'r'ik 5 in'ely'be 'brcught about by anysuitab-le pumping Iiiearis. I Arren ged within the tank are a series cf sem of parallel vertical pipes -14 and 1421. Sets 'of gipes l4 and Ma extend. from an upper heaizir 2"; to a lower heaiier 22. Each set of pipes I 4 has welded to ita, common vertical; tangential, heat-conducting Wall l5, and each set 6f 19" es 'IQq, has welded thereto a cbrrespond'ing ccni-inch, jZe'rtial, tange'ntie1, heat-cohducting wall I I.

ese sets 'cf vertical piiies are mounted in pa rlfsp'alced relation in the tank [0, es-ihd icat'd fi Fig 2. 'In'o'rder-t-c force the wa ter to'circuIete "cver the c'boling surfaces of the pipesin sets fl |'4a,' th e wa11s I5-and H areof a dime'ri'sicn fitiflith their'sideedgee-touching the sides 6f thetahk H! sshown .inFigs; 3, 4 and 5.

Thebiltes I5 and H extend downwardly iritb feiigelginefit "with the bptt'om of the -ta'nk "21s snewn If'i'g. "2. A "vertical pertiticn subs "in-- 45 itialjly dividing the tank ihto halves is pro? eh lbyeplhralitybf flow' sp'eratorplates l8 inserted eenthe plates 15am; l1 angi betweenth s ahgithefends or the tarik I. These- 11 't r8 "extend u ard y int j n ee 5 "Withth e" frigerant cohtaiher'tgnlglfieh d war dly to a, position spaced somewhat H bcattc'ihibf the tethkhs'shew in Fig.2. I

Fig. 4 is a sectio'nsirhilair to Fig: 3 but shcifiiiig side of the plate extending upwardly into engagement with a quadrantal portion of the cylindrical refrigerant-containing tank I6 as shown in Figs. 1 and 6. The edges of these plates I and I! are notched out at I8a to fit around the headers 23.

The flow of the liquid in the tank is in a zigzag path, as indicated by arrows A in Figs. 1, 2 and 5, downwardly from the inlet pipe iI through the vertical cell-like passages formed by the tank walls and the plates I5, i1 and I8, under one of the separator plates I8, upwardly through a vertical cellular passage or channel, thence over a half length of a header 23, downwardlythrough a cellular passage, thence under a dividing partition I8, upwardly through the cellular passage, and so on up and down and through the cellular passages, etc., finally reaching the outlet conduit leading back to the cooling tank.

If the heat supplied from the circulating water is less than that absorbed by the refrigerant, ice will be formed on pipes I4 and Ma and walls I5 and I1, and vice versa, if the heat supplied from the water is greater than that absorbed by the refrigerant, the ice will be melted.

The refngierant container I6 consists of a horizontal cylinder having a surge tank type arrangement for the liquid refrigerant as shown in Fig. 1. The level of the liquid refrigerant at I9 is controlled by the float valve 28. A series of vertical conduits 2I extend from the bottom of the refrigerant container I6 and communicate with the series of bottom headers 22. Bottom headers 22 feed a plurality of vertical pipes 54 and Ma which extend from the bottom header vertically upward to a top header 23. Top header 23 has conduits 24 and 25 at each end which connect it with the upper portion of the refrigerant container I6, this portion being above the level of the liquid refrigerant. The liquid refrigerant container I6 has a conduit 26 for feeding liquid refrigerant to the surge tank from a compressor condenser unit (not shown) and a conduit 21 for conducting vaporized refrigerant back to the compressor.

The refrigerant may be any of the commonly 1 used liquefied gases such as ammonia, sulphur dioxide, etc.

The operation of this refrigerating assembly is as follows:

The refrigerating tank Ill is filled with water to a level just above the top edge of the series of upper headers 23 and below the level of the uppermost portions of the upper edges of the plates I5 and I1. Refrigerant is supplied from the compressor at all times, and thus the outer surfaces of the pipes I4 and Ma and of the accompanying walls I5 and I! are always in a condition to freeze ice, the ice forming on the surfaces in slabs, the thickness depending upon the length of time the system operates and upon the temperature of the milk or other fluid which is being cooled. The degree of ice formation depends upon the amount of heat taken out of the fluid being cooled. If the milk or other fluid does not require a lot of heat removal then ice formation will be accelerated and will continue to build up on the surfaces of the'walls i5 and I1 and the pipes I4. The flow of water through the refrigerator and the cooler may be regulated in any suitable manner to assure the prevention of excessive ice formation.

During the cooling operation the liquid refrigerant 28 is flowing through the vertical conduit 2I into the headers 22. The latter then'feed the liquid refrigerant into the vertical pipes I4 and I 4a, respectively. The surrounding water causes the vaporization of the liquid refrigerant, with the result that the upward flow of refrigerant in the pipes I4 and Ma consists substantially of a major portion of gaseous refrigerant and a minor portion of liquid refrigerant. The gaseous refrigerant then feeds from pipes 54 and Ila into the upper headers 23, and the latter feed at each end by means of the connecting conduits 24 and 25 back to the top of the container I6. Any droplets of liquid refrigerant which may have been carried up through the vertical pipes I4 and I la are caught by the bafiies 29 and drop back into the liquid refrigerant layer 28. The remaining major portion of gaseous refrigerant then flows through the outlet 21 back to the refrigerant compressor and ultimately recirculates back through inlet 26 back to the container I6. The confinement of the refrigerant liquid 28 into the narrow conduit 2I causes the liquid to flow rapidly to the bottom headers 22 with a minimum of gaseous refrigerant formation. By this means the volatilization of the liquid refrigerant into a gas takes place only in the vertical pipes wherein the flow is upward; namely, in pipes I4. Since the flow in pipes is only in one direction there is no conflict of countercurrent fluids with accompanying loss in cooling efficiency.

In order to provide ample heat transfer surface and to cause turbulence for the purpose of bringing substantially all parts of the stream into engagement with the heat transfer surface, I provide a plurality of heat transfer projections 38 mounted on and extending from the heat transfer plates I5 and I! and extending transversely of the flow of water to provide auxiliary flow of heat between the circulating liquid and the heat transfer devices and to create turbulence in the flow of the congealable liquid. These projections may be in the form of metal tubular elements secured to the heat transfer plates in any suitable manner, as by spot-welding.

In use, if the demand for abstraction of heat in the cooling tank is relatively small, the ice will build up on the heat transfer surfaces of the heat transfer devices somewhat as shown in cross section in Fig. 3, the heat transfer projections causing the formation of mound-like projections of ice 3I. When the demand for heat abstraction in the cooling tank is relatively great, the ice formed on the heat transfer device will melt away to somewhat the formation shown in Fig. 4 in which there remains little islets of ice 32 frozen onto the plates and lying between the heat transfer projections.

Further modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art and it is desired, therefore, thatthe invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, What I claiman'd desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An ice-forming and melting apparatus comprising a tank, having an inlet and an outlet, for. containing water to be frozen, melted and circulated in a tortuous passageway from the inlet to the outlet, a plurality of juxtaposed, twofaced refrigerant-receiving and heat-transferring devices, each provided with an extensive heat transfer surface on each face thereof and constructed and arranged to receive refrigerant for congealing a liquid on said surfaces, mounted in said tank, said heat transfer surfaceslying in generally parallel planes to provide a plurality of parallel flow spaces, partitions, extending from an intermediate portion of one heat transfer surface to another, parallel to said flow spaces, to provide additional parallel flow spaces, said surfaces lying in generally vertical planes, the water flow being underneath the lower edges of all said partitions, and a refrigerant container above said partitions with respect to which said partitions have a water-tight connection, for supplying liquid refrigerant to said devices and receiving gasified refrigerant therefrom.

2. An ice-forming and melting apparatus comprising a tank, having an inlet and an outlet, for containing water to be frozen, melted and circulated in a tortuous passageway from the inlet to the outlet, a plurality of juxtaposed, twofaced refrigerant-receiving and heat-transferring devices, each provided with an extensive heat transfer surface on each face thereof and constructed and arranged to receive refrigerant for congealing a liquid on said surfaces, mounted in said tank, said heat transfer surfaces lying in generally parallel planes to provide a plurality of parallel flow spaces, partitions, extending from an intermediate portion of one heat transfer surface to another, parallel to said flow spaces, to provide additional parallel flow spaces, said surfaces lying in generally vertical planes, the water flow being underneath the lower edges of all said partitions, and a refrigerant container above said partitions with respect to which said partitions have a water-tight connection, for supplying liquid refrigerant to said devices and receiving gasified refrigerant therefrom, each of said devices having an upper edge portion on one side of the plane of said partitions extending above the water level in the tank, and an upper edge portion on the other side of said partitions below the water level.

3. An ice-forming and melting apparatus comprising a tank, having an inlet and an outlet, for containing water to be frozen, melted and circulated in a tortuous passageway from the inlet to the outlet, a plurality of juxtaposed, two-faced refrigerant-receiving and heat-transferring devices, each provided with an extensive heat transfer surface on each face thereof and constructed and arranged to receive refrigerant for congealing a liquid on said surfaces, mounted in said tank, said heat transfer surfaces lying in generally parallel planes to provide a plurality of parallel flow spaces, partitions, extending from an intermediate portion of one heat transfer surface to another, parallel to said flow spaces, to provide additional parallel fiow spaces, said surfaces lying in generally vertical planes, the water flow being underneath the lower edges of all said partitions, and a refrigerant container above said partitions with respect to which said partitions have a water-tight connection, for supplying liquid refrigerant to said devices and receiving gasified refrigerant therefrom, each of said devices having an upper edge portion on one side of the plane of said partitions extending above the water level in the tank, and an upper edge portion on the other side ofsaid partitions below the water level, said higher edge portions having a water-tight connection with said refrigerant container.

4. An ice-forming and melting apparatus comprising a tank, having an inlet and an outlet, for containing water to be frozen, melted and circulated in a tortuous passageway from the inlet to the outlet, a plurality of juxtaposed, two-faced refrigerant-receiving and heat-transferring devices, each provided with an extensive heat transfer surface on each face thereof and constructed and arranged to receive refrigerant for congealing a liquid on said surfaces, mounted in said tank, said heat transfer surfaces lying in generally parallel planes to provide a plurality of parallel flow spaces, said devices having provisions for causing the water to flow in one direction along a face of one of said heat transfer devices and in the opposite direction along the opposite face thereof along said flow spaces consecutively from said inlet to said outlet, and water-agitating and ice-anchorage projections secured to and extending from said surfaces into said flow spaces on which ice may form and which will create turbulence in the water flow.

5. An ice-forming and melting apparatus comprising a tank, having an inlet and an outlet, for containing water to be frozen, melted and circulated in a tortuous passageway from the inlet to the outlet, a plurality of juxtaposed, two-faced refrigerant-receiving and heat-transferring devices, each provided with an extensive heat transfer surface on each face thereof and constructed and arranged to receive refrigerant for congealing a liquid on said surfaces, mounted in said tank, said heat transfer surfaces lying in generally parallel planes to provide a plurality of parallel flow spaces, said devices having provisions for causing the water to flow in one direction along a face of one of said heat transfer devices and in the opposite direction along the opposite face thereof along said flow spaces consecutively from said inlet to said outlet, and water-agitating and ice-anchorage projections secured to and extending from said surfaces into said flow spaces on which ice may form and which will create turbulence in the water flow, said surfaces lying in generally vertical planes.

6. A cooling device comprising a two-faced refrigerant-receiving and heat-transferring device provided with an extensive heat transfer surface on each face thereof lying in a generally vertical plane, and constructed and arranged to receive a refrigerant for cooling said surfaces, a refrigerant container above said device for supplying liquid refrigerant thereto and receiving gasified refrigerant therefrom, said device comprising a lower horizontal header, a conduit extending downwardly from said container below the liquid therein to said lower header for enabling downward flow of liquid refrigerant to said lower header, an upper horizontal header, a set of parallel vertical pipes extending between and affording communication between said headers and enabling upward flow of liquid and gasified refrigerant from said lower header to said upper header, and a conduit extending from each end of said upper header to said container above the liquid level therein to enable the flow of gasified refrigerant from said upper header to the container, said first conduit means comprising a conduit extending through an intermediate portion of said upper header and parallel to said parallel pipes.

JOSEPH I. MORRISON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,743,896 Kusel Jan. 14, 1930 1,929,444 Murray Oct. 10, 1933 2,364,154 Markley Dec. 5, 1944 2,448,453 Morrison Aug. 31, 1948 

